When the elevator closed and they began the twenty-three floor descent, Mina couldn’t help but feel claustrophobic being so close to Brody. Nan tapped her foot to the music of Seven String Quartet coming over the elevator speakers while pulling out her phone to text someone. Brody leaned against the wall looking them over.

“You both look nice,” he spoke quietly. He looked at Nan and then Mina.

Mina’s eyes lifted for a moment and caught his. Her cheeks burned and she could only whisper the word, “Thanks.”

Where was her resolve to be charming and confident? It had disappeared the moment he walked into the room. She could smell his cologne and she had to concentrate just to breathe.

Nan turned around, raised her eyebrows toward Brody, and gave Mina a knowing smile when he wasn’t looking. They left the lobby and walked out to Brody’s S.U.V. Nan immediately slid into the backseat, forcing Mina to take the front. The twenty minute drive to the concert was filled with Nan’s constant chatter about Dead Prince Society. How many tours they go on a year, which song is her favorite and Brody jumped in with all sorts of little known facts.

Nan gushed about how cute Valdemar was, while leaning between the seats to put their CD into Brody’s stereo. They started to sing out the words to the song, ‘Beauty’s Dead’ and when their voices blended perfectly they laughed at each other and Nan hit his shoulder.

Feeling somewhat pressured and left out, Mina blurted out the only thing she could think of, “Did you know that Valdemar isn’t his real name?”

Brody laughed out loud, “Yeah, I called him Peter growing up.”

“Oh right, I forgot, cousins and all.” Mina wanted to crawl into the cracks of the leather seat and disappear. Thankfully, Nan stepped in again and pulled the attention away from Mina.

“Thank goodness! I don’t think Peter is a good name for the lead singer. Valdemar sounds much more mysterious.”

She hung back and let Nan and Brody banter back and forth the rest of the car ride, which thankfully, was almost over. They were able to find a parking spot within a few blocks walk of the venue. Brody walked up to the will call booth and gave his name.

An overly plump man in a black tank top with a dragon tattoo on his arm made a quick call on his phone. He nodded his head, and handed them three vinyl tags on lanyards. “Don’t lose these and don’t sell ‘em,” he grumbled.

Brody handed out the backstage passes. Nan could barely contain her excitement as the man got off his worn stool in his small booth and led them to a metal side door. He knocked, and what looked like a bodyguard opened the door. The bodyguard and ticket attendant spoke in low tones before motioning them forward.

Not really knowing what to expect, Mina stuck to Nan’s side like glue. They walked down a back hallway and were directed toward an elevator. Taking the elevator up, they walked out into a large open room filled with couches, food, makeup artists, photographers, and fans.

“Where are we?” Mina asked in hushed tones.

“The green room,” Nan said in awe.

Mina looked at the floor and walls. “But it’s not green.”

Nan’s neck snapped back and forth like a metronome as she took in the surroundings. “It’s just called that. It’s the hangout room for special guests and the rock stars before and after they perform. I can’t believe it.” She squeezed Mina’s hand in excitement and pointed when she caught sight of one of the band members.

Naga was Japanese and wore head to toe black leather with matching boots. He even had a spiked Mohawk tipped with white. He was clearly upset about something and was visibly arguing with his hairstylist. Mina could only guess that it had something to do with the very skunk-like turn his hair was taking.

Brody was talking to a young man with white blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, who was the epitome of a punked-out version of Lord of the Rings’ Legolas. Nan whispered Constantine’s name in awe to Mina. “After Valdemar, he is the second hottest Prince in the band. You do remember what I told you, right? That each of them chose their stage name after an actual dead prince?”

The third band member was the largest and sat stuffing his face from the vast array of sandwiches, snacks and fruit on a table. It was interesting that all of the healthy food sat untouched while the floor was littered with bags of the opened candy. Mina wished she had spent more time learning the names of the band members, or at least their stage names. For some reason she kept thinking his name was Magpie—no Martin—ah wait…Magnus. Too nervous to stare at the fiercely intimidating guy for any length of time, she kept glancing to the others in the room, trying to guess who the other member was.

“Oh, I can’t believe this is happening! No one on earth is going to believe this. Here take my phone. Get a picture of me next to Valdemar,” Nan hissed.

A solemn young man with golden hair down to his chin, wearing skin tight jeans and a black vest, sat on a red vinyl couch re-stringing his guitar. He appeared to be trying to ignore an over exuberant female fan with bright pink hair.

“Which one is that again?” Mina asked, already forgetting the names Nan had pointed out earlier.

Nan tossed her the phone and went over to delicately sit on the edge of the red vinyl couch, feet away from the Dead Prince Society’s lead singer. Nan nervously pasted a smile on her face and posed.

Unsure of what to do, it took her a few moments to figure out what Nan wanted. She got the phone to the right screen but she couldn’t get Nan and the rocker in the same shot. Mina motioned with her hands for Nan to scoot closer.

Nan’s confidence faltered. Her smile slipped a little as she carefully slid inches closer to the rocker. It wasn’t close enough. Mina mouthed the words ‘closer’ and Nan scooted even closer to Valdemar, who seemed oblivious to Nan’s inching. The girl with bubblegum pink hair started to shoot them both nasty glances, but they ignored her.

Just when Nan had inched as close as she dared, Valdemar reached his arm out and quickly pulled her into his lap. She screeched in surprise, but was quieted as Valdemar’s hands reached around her possessively, but was even more surprised when he leaned in and kissed her.

Mina snapped the picture.

Chapter 4

Nan was too stunned to fight or pull away from the kiss and she let Valdemar continue. The girl with pink hair looked furious and screamed something incoherent at the kissing couple. When she didn’t get the immediate reaction she desired, she stormed out of the room, knocking over chairs and lamps in the process. When the exit door slammed with finality, Valdemar gently pulled away from the kiss. He looked momentarily surprised by his own reaction to the intensity of the shared kiss. It took him a minute to recover before he slid Nan onto the cushion next to him, closer than what was necessary.

“Sorry about that. I was at my wit’s end trying to make her go away. Thank you for playing along.” He glanced at the door and smirked and turned back to Nan. “It worked at least.” His eyes still held a hint of desire, and he swallowed nervously.

Nan perched awkwardly on the cushion next to him, her hand gently brushing her lips where they were seconds ago pressed to his. Her cheeks turned bright red and she looked like she was at a loss for words. Hastily she jumped up from the couch, knocking her knee into the coffee table, trying to run away.